17 Essential Travel Hacking Tips For Your Next Trip
With many countries having returned to normalcy in the current post-COVID travel season, “revenge travel” has been going strong and it does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. According to a 2023 survey by Skyscanner, 77% intend to spend the same or more on trips abroad than they did in 2022, with 41% planning to spend more.
The surge in travel demand has also brought the prices of air tickets to an all-time high and the costs of travel have increased ever since the COVID period. So before booking your flights in a haste, you’ve got to make sure that you don’t burst your budget while getting everything you need for your vacation or business trip. Here are some quick money-saving hacks that may come in handy.
Money-Saving Travel Hacks: Get The Cheapest Flights
Besides looking out for the best promotions on flight booking portals, there are many other ways to get the best deals.
Pick certain days and months to book your flight
Save on booking fees
Redeem air miles for free flights
Using your accumulated air miles earned from your credit card usage can help you to shave off some air travel expenses with free flights. You can find our round-up of the best air miles credit cards here. Check it out!
Follow Telegram groups
Telegram groups like those by Trip.com SG will keep you updated with some of the latest deals for low-cost flights and even travel accommodation promotions. This will save you some research time.
Go for trips on off-peak seasons
Book Accommodations At The Best Price
Flash deals are not the only way to get value-for-money hotels or accommodations for your vacation or business trip, there are a few more tricks to snap up the hotel or accommodation that you want at better prices.
Use portals with no reservation and cancellation fees
Join WhatsApp groups
Redeem credit card reward points for free stays
Tap On Multi-Currency Accounts Or Digital Wallets
Multi-currency accounts or “MCA” like YouTrip, TransferWise and Revolut are essentially bank accounts that work like a digital wallet where you’re able to keep your currencies and transact them without incurring extra bank charges.
Save on conversion and overseas charges
Profit from small investments
Earn interest or cash back
Buy Travel Insurance
In this post-COVID situation now, travel insurance is mostly not required to travel to many countries, however it is still strongly recommended. Having a travel insurance plan with adequate coverage will allow you claim for medical expenses overseas, so it’ll definitely prepare you better for such unexpected situations.
Hack #1: Consider annual travel insurance
If you’re going to be travelling more than three times each year, it’ll make more economical sense to get an annual travel insurance plan instead of a single trip plan as single-trip insurance for 3 or 4 overseas trips in a year may probably cost the same as or more than an unlimited number of trips on an annual insurance plan.
Hack #2: Enjoy complimentary travel insurance with credit cards
Many credit cards, especially those which offer the feature of air miles rewards, will often include complimentary travel insurance coverage that can be decent or even comprehensive enough for your trip. So check with your bank on your credit card benefits before getting a travel insurance plan.
Hack #3: Go for family or group travel insurance
Some travel insurers offer free coverage for up to 4 children in their range of travel insurance plans while most insurers provide much cheaper rates for family travel insurance plans as compared to buying separate individual plans for each family member travelling together.
Best Travel Insurance With COVID-19 Coverage
FWD Premium
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$200,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$7,500
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$3,000
- Total PremiumTotal Premium
S$19.4725% Off - S$14.60
[Win a Rolex, Dream Vacation & More! | MoneySmart Exclusive]
• Enjoy 25% off your policy premium and 2,400 My Millennium Points (worth S$16) with every policy purchased. T&Cs apply.
BONUS: For a limited time only, stand a chance to score over S$10,000 worth of prizes in our Grand Draw.
• Rolex Oyster Perpetual - 124200 34mm Silver (worth S$9,000)
• All Expenses Paid Trip
• 2D1N Staycation at any Millennium Hotels and Resorts and 15,000 My Millennium Points (worth up to S$550)
Increase your chances of winning when you refer friends today.
T&Cs apply.
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Tiq Savvy
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$500,000
- Travel Cancelation
- S$5,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$2,000
- Total PremiumTotal Premium
S$3440% Off - S$20.40
[MoneySmart Exclusive]
• Enjoy 40% off your Single Trip policy premium and 60% off Covid-19 add-on for Annual Plans. T&Cs apply
• Additionally, receive 2,400 My Millennium Points (worth S$16) with every policy purchased. T&Cs apply.
[Etiqa's 10th Year 2024 Grand Draw]
Stand a chance to win S$10,000 cash or a Singapore Mint Lunar Dragon 1 gram 999.9 fine gold medallion (worth S$173) with eligible Etiqa/Tiq by Etiqa plans purchased. T&Cs apply.
Starr TraveLead Comprehensive Bronze
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$200,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$5,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$3,000
S$37.4450% Off- S$18.72
[Win a Rolex, Dream Vacation & More! | MoneySmart Exclusive]
• Enjoy 50% off your policy premium and 2,400 My Millennium Points (worth S$16) with every policy purchased.
• Additionally, receive up to S$45 via PayNow OR 1 x Apple AirTag (worth S$45.40) with eligible premiums spent. T&Cs apply.
BONUS: For a limited time only, stand a chance to score over S$10,000 worth of prizes in our Grand Draw.
• Rolex Oyster Perpetual - 124200 34mm Silver (worth S$9,000)
• All Expenses Paid Trip
• 2D1N Staycation at any Millennium Hotels and Resorts and 15,000 My Millennium Points (worth up to S$550)
Increase your chances of winning when you refer friends today.
T&Cs apply.
Allianz Travel Silver
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$500,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$5,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$3,000
- Total PremiumTotal Premium
S$4655% Off - S$20.70
[Receive your cash as fast as 30 days*]
• Enjoy an exclusive 55% off your policy premium and 2,400 My Millennium Points (worth S$16) with every policy purchased.
• Additionally, receive up to S$35 via PayNow with eligible premiums spent. T&Cs apply.
MSIG TravelEasy Standard
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$250,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$5,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$3,000
- Total PremiumTotal Premium
S$3855% Off - S$17.10
[Win a Rolex, Dream Vacation & More! | MoneySmart Exclusive]
3 DAYS FLASH SALE: Enjoy 55% off your Single Trip policy premium when you apply promo code TRAVEL55. Valid till 28 Apr 2024.
• Enjoy 20% off your Annual Plan policy premiums (no promo code required). Valid till 6 May 2024.
• Get 2,400 My Millennium Points (worth S$16) with every policy purchased.
• Additionally, receive up to S$45 via PayNow OR 1 x Apple AirTag (worth S$45.40) with eligible premiums spent. T&Cs apply.
BONUS: For a limited time only, stand a chance to score over S$10,000 worth of prizes in our Grand Draw.
• Rolex Oyster Perpetual - 124200 34mm Silver (worth S$9,000)
• All Expenses Paid Trip
• 2D1N Staycation at any Millennium Hotels and Resorts and 15,000 My Millennium Points (worth up to S$550)
Increase your chances of winning when you refer friends today.
T&Cs apply.
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Singlife Travel Lite
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$250,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$5,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$3,000
- Total Premium
- final-price
Bubblegum Travel Insurance
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$150,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$5,000
- Loss/Damage of Personal Baggage
- S$3,000
- Total PremiumTotal Premium
S$30.3210% Off - S$27.29
[Receive your cash as fast as 30 days*]
• Enjoy 10% off your policy premium and 2,400 My Millennium Points (worth S$16) with every policy purchased.
• Additionally, receive up to S$25 via PayNow with eligible premiums spent. T&Cs apply.
Pick Suitable Car Rental Options
Depending on where you’ll be driving to, renting a car during your vacation or business trip can either be cheaper or more expensive than taking public transport.
Hack #1: Get a travel insurance plan with car rental excess coverage
Hack #2: Rent without the add-ons
Hack #3: Save on car fuel with credit cards
Check the benefits that your credit cards provide, some of them do offer discounts on fuels at selected petrol stations or you can even receive cashback on overseas spending including those spent on fuel abroad.
Best Credit Cards For Travelling
The welcome bonus air miles of 45,000 miles is pretty irresistible when you sign up for this Standard Chartered Journey credit card. Moreover, you can earn 3 miles for every S$1 spend on various categories including transportation, food delivery and online grocery merchants.
As a traveller, you’ll appreciate the 2 complimentary visits to Priority Pass lounges around the world each year, complimentary travel insurance coverage of up to S$500,000, and the flexibility of choosing between air miles, cash rewards or shopping vouchers for your reward points redemption.
With no minimum spend and a miles earn rate of either 1.2 miles per $1 for local spending, up to 4 miles per $1 for overseas spending, or up to 10 miles per $1 for online hotel bookings, the Citibank PremierMiles Card is a frequent flyer’s card that comes with many benefits.
These benefits include 2 free visits to Priority Pass lounges at over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide per year, complimentary travel insurance, and miles with no expiry. If you’re looking to renew your existing Citibank PremierMiles Card, you’ll be rewarded with a renewal bonus of 10,000 Citi Miles on your Card anniversary.
Whether it’s an American Express Card or VISA Card that is under UOB PRVI, signing up for this card through MoneySmart will give you a chance to get up to 54,000 miles from UOB, and an additional 4,800 miles from UOB.
You’ll also be able to earn up to 6 miles for every $1 spent on selected online hotel and flight bookings, 2.4 miles for every $1 spent overseas and 1.4 miles for every $1 spent locally. Note that you’ll have to fulfil the minimum spend of S$1,000 for 2 consecutive months from your card approval date in order to enjoy the 54,000 miles giveaway.
This card is one of the few credit cards which entitles you to a generous welcome gift of 35,000 miles and unlimited access to over 1,100 airport lounges worldwide per year. You’ll also be able to share your free passes with your supplementary cardholders if you want – so you and your travel buddy can both use the lounge together.
The miles earn rate for this card is 2.25 miles for every $1 spent abroad and 1.25 miles for every $1 spent locally, plus you can enjoy complimentary travel insurance coverage of up to US$2,000,000 (annual value worth S$988).
With a pretty generous 20,000 air miles (equivalent to a round trip air ticket to Bali) giveaway, HSBC TravelOne Card offers you up to 2.4 miles (6X Reward points) for every $1 spent overseas, upon payment of an annual fee of S$194.40 and a minimum spend of S$800.
However, annual fee waiver benefits are available if you spend more than S$25,000 per year. There is no conversion fee when you redeem for air miles or hotel points for a wide range of airline and hotel bookings including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy and more.
With a pretty generous 20,000 air miles (equivalent to a round trip air ticket to Bali) giveaway, HSBC TravelOne Card offers you up to 2.4 miles (6X Reward points) for every $1 spent overseas, upon payment of an annual fee of S$194.40 and a minimum spend of S$800.
However, annual fee waiver benefits are available if you spend more than S$25,000 per year. There is no conversion fee when you redeem for air miles or hotel points for a wide range of airline and hotel bookings including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I avoid booking fees when buying air tickets?
- Buying tickets in person is one way to save on online booking fees, although it may be a hassle to drive to the airport, head down to your preferred airline's ticket counter to purchase your tickets from the representative.
Is there a way to receive instant notifications of flight and hotel booking deals?
- Joining certain Telegram groups and WhatsApp groups by established and renowned travel portals and hotel brands can keep you updated with some of the latest deals for low-cost flights and even travel accommodation promotions.
Should I pick a single trip or annual travel insurance?
- If you’re a frequent traveller or planning to go overseas more than three times each year, it’ll make more economical sense to get an annual travel insurance plan instead of a single trip plan as single-trip insurance for 3 or 4 overseas trips per year may cost the same as or more than an unlimited number of trips on an annual insurance plan.
How to avoid foreign currency exchange fees when travelling?
- Getting a Multi-currency account or MCA helps you avoid any foreign exchange conversion fees when you withdraw, remit or receive foreign currency funds directly from another account.
Can I get waivers for credit card foreign transaction fees?
- Yes, there are many credit cards that offer discounts or waivers of foreign transaction fees, but you’ll have to call in or email or log into your account with your credit card issuing bank to request for it.